Wealthy Texas Democrat Drops Out Of Senate Race Against Cornyn

Wealthy attorney Mikal Watts (D) announced today that he will be withdrawing from the race to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.).

His announcement leaves Texas state Rep. Rick Noriega as the only Democratic candidate left against Cornyn.

“After spending the last several months putting everything into this campaign, I have seen the toll this effort has taken on my young children,” Watts said in a statement. “For these reasons, my wife and I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 2008.”

Watts, by virtue of his personal wealth, had the financial ability to compete with Cornyn. He ended the third quarter with $8.3 million in his campaign account. He raised about $3.6 million from individual contributors during the entire cycle, and loaned his campaign an additional $5.6 million.

Noriega ended the quarter with just $510,000 in his campaign account, while Cornyn reported $6.6 million cash-on-hand at the end of the third quarter.